Jonas Siegenthaler is one of the NHL's best bargains

Siegenthaler is a high-end defender but he's certainly not being paid like it.

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Jonas Siegenthaler’s five-year contract very much looked like a steal the day it was signed.

I had this to say back in July of 2022:

This is a fantastic bit of business by Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald. He extended the best defensive player on the roster for his entire prime at an extremely reasonable price.

…

There is a lot of upside with this deal and – at this price – not a whole lot of risk attached. It won’t take much for Siegenthaler to provide surplus value on this contract.

Fast forward three years and the Siegenthaler extension probably looks even better than it did at the time, which is saying something.

Siegenthaler is coming off a truly masterful defensive season in his first year playing for Sheldon Keefe. At 28, there’s no reason to expect a notable drop off anytime soon.

Let’s take a closer look at all the ways Siegenthaler provides value and why he carries one of the best contracts of any defender in the league.

Even-strength

Jonas Siegenthaler – like many Devils players – underwhelmed in a disappointing 2023-24 season.

He quickly rebounded under Keefe, immediately re-establishing himself as one of the most reliable players on the roster and someone Keefe could trust against anybody.

Siegenthaler spent more than 36% of his ice against elite comp, per PuckIQ. That was his highest mark since the 2021-22 campaign that earned him the five-year extension in the first place.

How did Siegenthaler respond?

By allowing expected goals, goals, and scoring chances at the lowest rates of his entire career.

He was nothing short of exceptional, with his even-strength defense worth 1.64 WAR per 82 games. That was the 3rd highest rate in the NHL.

As you can see, this list is essentially a who’s who of the best defensive defensemen in the sport. For Siegenthaler to keep that kind of company is extremely encouraging.

But his A+ defense didn’t just shine through at evens…

Penalty kill

The Devils were a very good penalty killing team for much of last season, ranking 1st in shot suppression and 3rd in goals against.

Their expected goal numbers weren’t that good but, as a whole, the Devils were largely effective when undermanned.

Siegenthaler was the biggest driver in their success; at least on the backend. The Devils had a very clear core four on defense and Siegenthaler bested the field in every single major category.

Be it shots, high-danger chances, expected goals, or real ones, Siegenthaler was the best of the bunch – in most cases by a country mile – when it came to limiting the opposing team.

Siegenthaler wasn’t just one of the best the Devils had to offer. He was one of the best in the league at his position, once again cracking the top-5 in WAR value.

Side bar: god damn it, Carolina. The last thing your annoying ass penalty kill needs is to add *checks notes* the No. 1 defenseman in PK WAR from last season.

Sorry, had to get that out of the system. Back to Siegenthaler’s defense. It’s good, very good, all of the time! Even-strength, penalty killing, doesn’t matter.

He was as effective as almost anybody last season and he’s had multiple similarly good years before, indicating it’s something the Devils can continue to rely on moving forward.

Shutdown pairings

Siegenthaler spent the vast majority of his time playing on a pairing with Johnathan Kovacevic. Said pairing was one of the best defensive units in the league. Arguably the best.

Of the 75 pairings that spent at least 450 minutes together, none of them were better than Siegenthaler and Kovacevic at limiting expected goals. Only five other duos allowed fewer than 2 xGA/60.

Given Siegenthaler has posted elite defensive results before, and a defensive WAR above 1 per 82 games in three of four seasons with the Devils, it feels safe to say he was the driving force.

Kovacevic deserves credit for pulling his weight, of course, but it’s important to remember he entered the season regarded as a strong insurance policy more so than an every day player.

While Siegenthaler played almost exclusively with Kovacevic when healthy, it’s pretty telling three of the Devils’ four best pairings at limiting xG featured Siegenthaler.

There are some small sample sizes, sure, but it’s probably not a coincidence Siegenthaler’s name is littered at the top of the leaderboard.

Bang for your buck

If I’m Tom Fitzgerald and ever feeling down, I’m pulling up the old cap page and taking a nice, long, look at Siegenthaler’s contract.

He is one of the best defenders in the sport who plays ~1/3 of each game and he’s commanding just $3.4 million per season for three more years.

It’s an absolute bargain as is. With the cap set to continue soaring, it’s going to become even more of one in time.

You think I’m done? Well, you’re mistaken! Six graphics are not enough to drive home the greatness of Siegenthaler and his contract. A 7th is needed. And a 7th I shall deliver.

Of the 10 most effective blueliners by even-strength WAR/82 last season, Siegenthaler provided the best dollar per WAR value.

Siegenthaler’s defensive WAR has finished above 1.0 – an excellent mark – in three of four seasons with the Devils.

Even if he doesn’t maintain the exact level he did last season, it’s very likely he provides far more value than his $3.4 million cap hit would indicate.

Siegenthaler is an excellent player on an even better contract. The Devils are lucky to have him.

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Info via AdvancedHockeyStats.com, NaturalStatTrick.com, PuckIQ.com, CapWages.com, and PuckPedia.com